Today there exists many types of walls used to retain earth and the like. Some have been constructed by merely vertically stacking and cementing cement blocks or rocks together. This method of construction is costly and time consuming.
Walls have also been constructed by mounting a number of juxtaposed piles in the ground and vertically stacking elongated, horizontal members, such as railroad ties, one atop the other behind the piles. The piles prevent the stack from falling forward as earth is pressed against the rear of the wall. This method has also proven to be a costly and time consuming process. A variation in this method has been the use of preshaped, elongated members such as guard rails which are bent into in the desired shape of the wall. The preshaped members are stacked one atop the other in constructing the wall. The preshaping of the members however has limited the adaptability of the wall to particular sites and increased costs due to their lack in design versatility.
In recent years retaining walls have been made of precast, interlocking, concrete panels. However, because these panels are interlocked stresses exerted on them as adjacent earth settles causes them to weaken and break as they move relative to each other. Additionally, these types of walls are typically provided with anchors which must be buried in the ground behind the wall to prevent the wall from falling forward. The cost of these anchors and of their installation increases costs and construction time.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a wall for retaining earth in a more cost efficient and durable manner. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.